Friday, May 14, 2010

Mastering the Art of French Cooking...For One

I was writing out a grocery list yesterday morning & trying to figure what I wanted to have for dinner, when suddenly, the idea of making my first cheese soufflé popped into my head. No idea where that thought came from but, I was immediately looking forward to getting back into the kitchen & trying something new. And I knew there was only one person to go to for instructions on making my first soufflé, Julia Child.
My First Cheese Soufflé
(This pretty little brown puff of egg & cheese had me doing a little happy dance around the kitchen when I pulled it from the oven.)

Is is just me, or are soufflés one of those dishes that are always made to seem very difficult to make? I just followed the steps in Mastering the Art of French Cooking & it was pretty darn simple. The hardest part was adapting the ingredients to make 1 serving instead of 4. Now, that I've had success with my first soufflé, I wonder why I've never made a one before & I can't wait to impress Matt with one for lunch next week.
My First Cheese Soufflé
(A little flatter after a picture or two but still as tasty!)

Soufflé Au Fromage Pour Un
Cheese Souffle for One
(adapted from Mastering the Art of French Cooking)

2 1/4 t unsalted butter + extra for greasing the ramekin
3/4 oz grated cheese (Swiss is suggested, I used Fol Epi)
2 1/4 t all-purpose flour
1/4 c hot milk
salt
pinch of pepper
pinch of cayenne
pinch of nutmeg
2 eggs, at room temperature
pinch of cream of tarter

Put a rack in the center of your oven & preheat to 400 F.

Grease a small ramekin, one that holds about 1 1/4 cups, with butter. Sprinkle a little cheese around the bottom & sides & set aside.
Guided by Julia
In a small saucepan, melt the butter over medium-low heat. Stir in the flour. Cook while stirring for 2 minutes , do not let brown. Remove from the heat & add the hot milk. Use a whisk & beat to blend together. Beat in a pinch of salt, the pepper, cayenne & nutmeg. Return to the heat & turn it up to medium-high. Cook while stirring for 1 minute until very thick. Remove from heat.

Separate the eggs, putting the whites in a clean bowl & ONE egg yolk into the sauce (you will not be using one of the egg yolks). Whisk the sauce & egg yolk together.

Spoon out about 2 teaspoons of the egg whites & throw them out (Ok, I did this to make it closer to the right amount of egg white for one serving per the recipe but, I think I actually could have just used them all.) Add a pinch of salt to the egg whites. Beginning beating with a clean whisk or an electric hand beater. When the eggs whites are foamy add the cream of tarter. Continue beating until the egg whites are stiff.
Hand Beaten Eggs(I went old school & beat them by hand)
Stir about 1/4 of the egg whites into the sauce. Stir in all but about 1/2 t of the remaining cheese. Finally, gently fold in the remaining egg whites.

Pour the soufflé mixture into the prepared ramekin, it should fill the ramekin about 3/4 full. Tap lightly on the counter & use a knife to smooth the top. Sprinkle with the remaining cheese. Use a cloth to to wipe the top edges of the ramekin clean. Place in the oven & turn the heat down to 375 F. Let cook for 20 minutes without opening the oven door. The soufflé should have risen over the top of the ramekin & be golden brown. Let cook for 5 more minutes to firm up. Eat immediately.

1 serving.
Fluffy inside
Voila! Fluffy, cheesy, eggy goodness!

If you are not reading this post in a feed reader or at http://agoodappetite.blogspot.com OR at http://agoodappetite.com then the site you are reading is illegally publishing copyrighted material. Contact me at katbaro AT yahoo DOT COM. All recipes, text and photographs in this post are the original creations & property of the author unless otherwise noted.© 2007-2010 Kathy Lewinski

18 comments:

  1. Mais, Oui. Vous avez maîtrisé l'art de cuisine de français. Votre souffle est magnifique! That's French for "Good Job"! GREG

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  2. I love the idea of cheese souffle, but haven't made my own yet. Haven't made chocolate either for that matter. You are making it look very easy and delicious though so it may be time I tried. :)

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  3. It's funny how un-scary a lot of recipes and techniques become once you just try them. You've made me braver. I vow to try something tricky.

    http://www.recipefordelicious.blogspot.com/

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  4. impressive debut! i hope it works out as perfectly when you're showing off for matt. :)

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  5. too scared to make a souffle. perhaps i should test out on myself first, like yo. Mum always used to do souffles at her dinner parties - brave lady!!

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  6. Bravo- oh its not just you because I have been scared to make one as well. I would love to make yours because if I fail it would not be catastrophic. It would be one serving ruined. Ah but I msut think positive. ANy ideas for a chocolate one?

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  9. Your first souffle? I can't believe it! It looks so professional!

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  10. i was really into making these when i was a teenager, believe it or not. this post is reminding me of what i've been missing.

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  11. I like that you calibrated this recipe for one. It's a great incentive to make it more often.

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  12. Looks beautiful and delicious!

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  13. I have never made a soufflé but this is exactly how I would hope it turns out - beautiful! It looks so light and perfectly golden. The final photo of the inside just makes me want to spoon it through the screen!

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  14. yes yes yes! This looks amazing. Julia would be proud!

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  15. This looks so good, well done! I've always been apprehensive about souffles, but I think I'll give it a try after reading this :) the fact that you still made an effort to have something nice for one is very refreshing :)

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  16. I know I am late to this posting but I was looking for something to make for dinner since I've been snowed in all day (live outside of Philadelphia). It turned out beautifully and was absolutely delicious! This one is a keeper. A salad and a glass of Chardonnay rounded out a perfect solo dinner.

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